iTunes Review

Gungor reaffirms its status as one of music’s most imaginative outfits with I Am Mountain, an eclectic song collection united by a common underpinning. In contrast with the otherworldly textures of 2011’s Ghosts Upon the Earth, I Am Mountain interweaves high-gloss electronica sounds, gritty acoustic elements, and film soundtrack motifs to frame its yearning lyrics. Lead singers Michael and Lisa Gungor make their intentions clear on the album’s title tune, a widescreen number framing William Blake–like poetic imagery with swelling synthesizers and chant-along choruses. More earthy in approach are tracks like “Wayward and Torn,” a bluesy tune with the intensity of a traditional folk lament. The classical guitars and pizzicato strings of “Yesternite” contrast with the funk groove of “Let It Go” and the Auto-Tuned vocalizing of “Wandering.” The album stretches out lyrically, delving into Greek mythology on “Beat of Her Heart” and taking a bold antiwar stance on “God and Country.” Gungor blends ethereal vocals and shimmery keyboards on the contemplative “Upside Down.”

Customer Reviews

Hmm...

by
Imagday7

This is, well, an interesting departure, both sonically and fundamentally, from any form of what we've all known and loved Gungor to be. I'm not surprised, as to say, in regards to this being an album focused on an entirely different medium and style of an artistic, spiritual, and political movement from the Gungor camp, as more than likely (they) feel the need to continue to expand a palate that may be too complex for common ears to taste and hear. This is a strange album, and not bad, but honestly progressive. Instrumentally the textures are exquisite, yet lyrically the complexities embedded in each line can leave one with the feeling of lingering uncertainty. I would guess this will be a bomb commercially, as the normal listener of a "beautiful things" type album will find the purposeful disjointed-ness of the overall album a bit disconcerting, while the person looking to explore past a "pop is king" type age of music will inevitably crown this album the successor to "Dark Side of the Moon". This album is simply an exercise in abnormality and pushes ones ears past the boundaries long established by other men telling us what we should like and portrays a journey that most won't follow, yet alas, I will. It's just plain fun.

What art in the Kingdom sounds like...

by
sweet cheetah

It's not Christian music. It's what music sounds like when created by passionate artists who have Christ inside them. God deserves all his music to sound this good.

What In The World.

by
Matthias Barker

I hated the first song "I am mountain" at first then it grew on me. I continued to listen through the album and there were parts where I felt like I was on lsd and falling through a global matrix of rainbows and kettlecorn mixed with italy, then I believe that there were some sounds I have literally never heard on this planet before. "Wondering" was brilliant. "Upside down" was the closest I've ever been to hearing a sunrise. This album is the most brilliant, beautiful, and weird piece of music I've ever heard.

Biography

Genre: Alternative

Gungor are a baroque pop, folk, and experimental rock-influenced collective centered on the husband-and-wife duo of Michael and Lisa Gungor. Although Gungor grew out of a Christian musical background and have often included spiritual concepts in their music, they do not consider themselves a CCM band. Raised in Wisconsin, Michael spent his formative years leading worship services with his pastor father. He attended Oral Roberts University (where he first met fellow musician Lisa) and later studied...